Shares of cruise operators rallied Monday, as the Food and Drug Administration's full approval of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. PFE, +2.92% and partner BioNTech SE BNTX, +8.77% boosted hopes for increased vaccination rates. Carnival Corp.'s stock CCL, +2.69% ran up 2.6%, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
shares climbed 3.0% and Royal Caribbean Group GRP, -0.85% tacked on 1.1%. In comparison, the S&P 500 SPX, +0.96% advanced 0.9%. The companies have required its staff and guests on most of their cruises to be vaccinated. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine"may now instill additional confidence to get vaccinated."